Soviet Other RECSAT Program 1981-1987
military space activities observation missions
Reconnaissance is a general term encompassing a variety of tech niques aimed at the collection of intelligence. Imaging techniques are usually referred to as photographic reconnaissance, but in addi tion to lens systems, include scanning radiometers and radar sys tems. Passive electronic intelligence gathering systems depend upon the reception of electromagnetic emanations from Earth- based radars and the interception of radio transmissions.
Photographic Reconnaissance
The announcement that Cosmos 4 had been recovered from orbit after a flight of only three days in 1962 signaled the inauguration of a continuing program of recoverable satellites within the Cosmos program accounting for almost half of all Cosmos launches. This figure has held good over the whole lifetime of the Cosmos program and the annual number of such launches has remained reasonably constant. As more and more of these short duration flights took place and few scientific results were reported it became natural to ascribe a military role to them. Recoveries were not announced by the Soviets, but payloads disappeared from orbit when their periods were still high enough to rule out natural decay.
Following an initial period of research and development, pay- loads were routinely recovered after flights of eight days. Orbital periods were chosen so that the gradual daily drift of ground-track every 16 revolutions made those on the eighth day coincident with those on the first, thus ensuring complete coverage of the whole area of the Earth situated between northern and southern lati tudes of the same value as the inclination of the orbit to the equa tor. The rate of daily drift is a function of the cosine of the inclina tion and this was evident in the small differences in orbital periods chosen for the preferred inclinations of 81.3°, 72.9°, 65° and 51.8°. Even with the longer-duration missions, which were to follow as time went by, the criterion for complete coverage was still satisfied for the non-maneuvering search-and-find missions.
The trend toward longer missions is a direct corollary of a gener al improvement in photographic resolution. Use of longer-focal- length optics, providing increased resolution on the same film format, results in a narrower swath being recorded. Consequently, to obtain uninterrupted coverage with the requisite overlap, ground tracks must be more closely spaced. Since perigee heights have always been as low as possible, consistent with keeping atmos pheric drag to a minimum, the closer spacing and lower orbital period is obtained by lowering the apogee.
Kettering Group monitoring of the in-flight radio transmissions and recovery beacons has enabled five generations of Soviet recov erable satellites to be distinguished. Recovery beacons take the form of a succession of pairs of Morse code characters transmitted on 19.995 MHz. The letter T is common to all variants of the recov ery beacons, but the dash of the T has twice the duration of the dashes in the other characters (F, G, K, L or V).
First generation missions employed shortwave frequencies of 19.989 or 19.994 MHz and were frequency-shift keyed (fsk) with pulse-duration modulation (PDM). Variations in telemetry-frame format revealed sub-sets which could be associated with low-resolution missions for area surveillance or high-resolution missions for close-look surveillance. These satellites were phased out in 1978.
A new type of transmission, pulse-code modulated (PCM), on 19.150 or 19.300 MHz, consisting of groups of three Morse code characters, signaled the appearance of the second-generation satellites. These flew high-resolution missions between 1968 and 1974 and exhibited a maneuvering capability. This enabled the orbit to be stabilized on reaching the desired location so that the satellite followed the same ground track over the target on successive days providing a close-look facility.
The first generation satellites were reassigned to fly area-surveillance missions with an extended duration, usually of 12 days dura tion. These first-generation extended-duration missions persisted even after third-generation satellites replaced the second generation for the close-look missions in 1974. Since 1974, area surveil lance has been achieved by flying third-generation satellites with much higher perigees and using interlaced coverage with ground tracks falling mid-way between successive ground tracks of the pre vious day. Drift once more ensured complete coverage, but each half of the target area was sampled on alternate days. The two high perigee Earth resources flights of 1981 employed triple inter lacing, sampling each third of the target area at three-day inter vals.
Third generation satellites were introduced in 1969 and are still currently operational, flying 14-day missions. They employ a different type of fsk transmission on 19.989 MHz, which appears to be a tracking beacon lacking any telemetric information. Latterly, these transmissions are activated only on one or two orbits, late in the day, when the satellite is southbound over the Soviet Union. Am plitude-modulated (AM) data is transmitted on command on 232 MHz in the VHP band. In these pulsed AM transmissions, 4 micro second-long pulses are transmitted every 80 microseconds defining words in the telemetry format. Within each such interval a word- value pulse, whose position within the 80 microsecond word inter val defines the particular word value, is transmitted. Such a system is pulse-position modulated amplitude modulation (PPM- AM). There is also a second mode with a word interval of 96 micro seconds.
Recoverable Cosmos satellites which do not transmit on any shortwave frequency known to the Kettering Group first appeared in 1975 at the new inclination of 67.2°. Two of the first three frag mented in orbit, but these satellites are now seen to constitute a fourth generation of satellites which fly missions of four to six weeks duration. At times there are two such satellites in orbit si multaneously. Telemetry transmissions on 240 MHz have been ob served at both low and high data rates. These consist of a frequency-modulated (FM) spectrum, approximately 300 kHz wide, with most of the energy at the edges of the signal bandwidth, indicating a high modulation index. The modulating signal is probably an am plitude-modulated pulse train (PAM). The normal frame duration is 10 milliseconds and the normal frame comprises 32 words. Peri gee heights are generally lower than for satellites of earlier genera tions, normally close to 175 km, but occasionally falling below 160 km, necessitating regular boosting to overcome drag and maintain orbit. Imagery is probably returned digitally from orbit and film capsules are returned to Earth during the mission. Recovery- beacon signals from these capsules have been recorded as Morse code TVs. These satellites are generally launched later in the day than those with 14-day missions to ensure suitable lighting condi tions over the target area at the end of the flight and perigee is relocated to the southbound pass in the latter stages of those mis sions exceeding four weeks.
A fifth generation advanced reconnaissance satellite made its debut at the end of 1982. Cosmos 1426, at 50.6° inclination out of Tyuratam, flew for 67 days before disappearing from orbit while its period was still sufficiently high to rule out natural decay. During its mission it made 10 major maneuvers, keeping the perigee con tinually in sunlight at a height close to 200 km. 65 Despite repeated attempts, the Kettering Group has failed to detect any shortwave or VHF transmissions from this satellite or its successors.
As reported in the space applications section of this chapter, two subsets of these recoverable payloads fill Earth resources and geo detic roles. Although the latter missions are no longer launched, products of the remote sensing flights are now made available com mercially. Because their telemetry transmissions are indistinguish able from the military satellites, they may serve a dual purpose.
From the inauguration of the Cosmos program in 1962, recoverable payloads have been orbited by the A-l and then, following the introduction of a more powerful upper stage in 1963, solely by the A-2 since 1968.
It is difficult to make estimates of the degree of resolution that is obtainable without access to the actual imagery. Claims that satel lites can read newspaper headlines from orbit would seem to be wildly exaggerated. Photo scales of 1:3,000,000 for the search-and-fmd type of mission, 1:250,000 for quick-look coverage, and 1:50,000 for close-look missions represent reasonable estimates. With a mod erate film resolution of 35 to 50 lines/millimeter for a low-contrast target, it should be possible to make out the general outline of small vehicles such as automobiles or even small continuous fea tures such as well-used footpaths.
Identification of the targets for these photographic reconnais sance missions is not generally possible due to the fact that, during the duration of their mission, they overfly most of the inhabited areas of the globe. However, at times of crisis, it is sometimes possible to deduce Soviet interest by noting maneuvers which produce stabilized ground tracks which repeat themselves on a daily basis. Taken together with the perigee location, these provide 16 specific longitudes around the small circle of the perigee latitude. As peri gee is usually located in the northern hemisphere, many of these lie within the Soviet Union or in the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans. One of the small number remaining after those have been elimi nated may coincide with an area of political unrest. By proceeding along such lines of argument it was possible to show that Cosmos 463 and Cosmos 464 monitored the situation during the Indo-Paki stani war at the end of 1971 and to follow the intensive monitoring of the Yom Kippur war in 1973. 66 Bhupendra Jasani of Sweden's SIPRI Institute drew attention to the role of Cosmos 932 in alerting the world to the preparations for an atmospheric test of a nuclear device in the Kalahari Desert by the Republic of South Africa in 1977. 67
Observations By Cosmonauts
Cosmonauts in Soyuz spacecraft and onboard the Salyut and Mir space stations make routine photographic observations of areas of particular interest using cameras such as the KATE-140 and MKF-6. These were described in part one of volume one of this report. The majority of cosmonauts are, or have been at some time, active military personnel. It would, therefore, be surprising if they did not, on occasions, take photographs and make visual observa tions at the request of the military command.
Radar Ocean Reconnaissance Satellites (RORSATS)
Cosmos satellites with orbital periods of 89.6 minutes and incli nations of 65° but differing from recoverable photographic reconnaissance satellites by having their perigees around 250 to 260 km, appeared with Cosmos 198 in 1967. Commencing with Cosmos 651 and Cosmos 654, these satellites operated in pairs and station keeping was rigidly enforced. Orbital planes were co-planar and a 23- minute time difference was maintained during the operational phase so that ground tracks were displaced by some 6° in longitude from each other.
Launched by the F-lm, this type of satellite does not separate from the second stage on being placed into orbit. Following an operational phase during which micro maneuvers maintain a circu lar orbit close to 260 km against the effect of atmospheric drag, part of the payload separates from the second stage and is boosted into a much higher circular orbit from where it will not reenter for several hundreds of years. This part contains a nuclear reactor, fueled with 50 kg of enriched U235, for providing the power for a side-looking radar using a slot antenna or planar array when in the lower orbit. Such satellites, using radar for ocean reconnais sance of the deployment and movements of western fleets, are known as RORSATs.
Cosmos 952 and Cosmos 954, launched in September 1977, operat ed as a pair. Cosmos 952 separated its reactor and transferred it to the "safe" orbit on October 8, after 22 days of operation. Cosmos 954 malfunctioned, however. It continued making small maneuvers until the early part of November 1977, but then entered a regime of natural decay and Western analysts expected that it would re- enter the atmosphere sometime in the following March. However, it lost altitude stability on January 6, 1978, and the rate of decay accelerated. It reentered over northern Canada on January 24, spreading radioactive debris over a wide area. The area affected is relatively unpopulated, and there were no confirmed injuries. Ca nadian authorities, assisted by the United States, cleaned up the debris and, under the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects, charged the Soviets $6 million for the cleanup activities. After several years, the Soviets agreed to pay half that amount.
No further satellites in this category were launched until Cosmos 1176 on April 29, 1980, more than two years later. Cosmos 1249 and Cosmos 1266, launched in 1981, were the first pair of RORSATs since Cosmos 952 and Cosmos 954 in 1977. It would appear that Cosmos 1266 quickly malfunctioned because its nuclear reactor was raised to the "safe" orbit after only a few days. It was noticed that, as with Cosmos 1176, two pieces appeared in the high orbit where as, prior to the Cosmos 954 accident, only one piece had been cata loged. Cosmos 1299 flew a two-week mission later that year, coin ciding with large-scale naval maneuvers by both NATO and Warsaw Pact countries. 68
There were four RORSAT launches in 1982. Cosmos 1365 was launched on May 14, well after the British Task Force had reached the Falkland Islands. Possibly its imminent launch was taken into consideration for potential coverage of the area surrounding the Islands when Cosmos 1355 was launched on April 29 into a plane bearing little relation to previous satellites of that type. (See EOR-SATs in the section which follows). Cosmos 1372 was co-planar with Cosmos 1365, but some 38.5 minutes behind it, producing a form of triplet interlacing of their respective ground tracks. These two satellites operated as a pair for a record 71 days.
Cosmos 1402 replaced Cosmos 1372 and, for a time, operated in p artnership with Cosmos 1365. Cosmos 1365 was eventually re-p laced by Cosmos 1412, only 25.5 minutes behind Cosmos 1402, prod ucing simple interlacing of ground tracks. Cosmos 1365 operated or a record 136 days before being separated into its individual c omponents and having its reactor raised to the "safe" orbit, K osmos 1412 ended its operational phase after 40 days on Novemb er 10.
Cosmos 1402 continued operating until December 28, 1982, when split into three components, all of which remained in low orbit, he world's media became aware of the situation on January 5, 19 83, and, mindful of the Cosmos 954 incident, gave maximum pub- :ity to the story. One piece, cataloged as "B" by NORAD, decayed ipidly, leaving pieces "A" and " C" in decaying orbits. Eventually the Soviets admitted that the satellite was out of control and em phasized that all precautions had been taken to ensure that no parts reached the Earth's surface. 69 One week later they disclosed that the two parts remaining in orbit were the main section of the satellite and the fuel core of its reactor. 70 It was immediately clear that the reactor core was the more dense piece "C" which was de caying at a slower rate than "A" and that the two pieces observed in the "safe" orbit since the resumption of the program in 1980 were indeed a reactor and its separated fuel core. The main part decayed over the Indian Ocean on January 23 and the fuel core over the South Atlantic on February 7. The RORSAT program did not resume launches until June 1984 (see chapter 4).
Electronic Intelligence Gathering (FLINT)
The mission of an ELINT, or ferret, satellite is to pinpoint locations of enemy defense radars, particularly those lying deep within enemy territory, and determine their ranges and signal character istics. With such knowledge it becomes possible to design electronic countermeasures (ECM) and plan methods for penetrating the de fenses. ELINT satellites are also used to locate military transmitters and to intercept military communications traffic.
Electronic Ocean Reconnaissance Satellites (EORSATs)
Soviet ELINT satellites dedicated to monitoring the activities of Western fleets at sea, known to DOD analysts as EORSATs (elec tronic ocean reconnaissance satellites), first appeared at the end of 1974. Equipped with small thrusters to overcome atmospheric drag, they make many small maneuvers to maintain their orbital period of 93.3 minutes in circular orbits at 65° inclination. In recent years they have operated in pairs with carefully chosen ground tracks lying precisely mid-way between those of their partners. When nat ural decay takes over at the end of their active lives, some have been raised to higher orbits, removing them from their replace ments, and it is not unknown for fragmentation to occur at a later date. EORSATs and RORSATs both transmit PPM-AM on 166 MHz
EORSATs, like the RORSATs, are launched from Tyuratam by the F-lm launch vehicle. Nicholas Johnson has pointed out an inter-group relationship between the EORSATs and the RORSATs in that their orbital planes always differ by some 145 to 150°. 71 This was particularly evident at the time of the Falklands conflict when no EORSAT or RORSAT was fully operational at the out break of hostilities. Cosmos 1355 was launched four weeks later, well away from the plane of the three previous EORSATs in the series. Cosmos 1365 and Cosmos 1372, which were co-planar and 45 minutes apart, were 150.7° out of plane with Cosmos 1355. Presum ably the Falklands crisis influenced the choice of orbits for these satellites and this was taken into account at the launch of Cosmos 1355.
TABLE 1.—COSMOS RADAR OCEAN RECONNAISSANCE SATELLITES RORSATS: 1967-1982
Cosmos number and designator Launch dale Apogee Perigee Incl. Period raised/ life
19867-127A ................................................. 12/27/67 270 249 65.1 89.7 12/28/67 1
952 894 65.2 103.4
209 68-23A .................................................. 3/22/68 343 183 65.0 89.7 3/23/68 2
944 871 65.3 103.1
367 70-79A .................................................. 10/3/70 264 246 65.1 89.6 10/3/70 > 1
1024 922 65.3 104.5
40271-25A ................................................... 4/1/71 274 247 65.0 89.7 4/1/71 1
1036 948 65.0 104.9
469 71-117A ................................................. 12/25/71 262 249 64.9 89.6 1/3/72 9
> 1023 941 64.5 104.7
516 72-66A .................................................. 8/21/72 263 251 65.0 89.6 9/22/72 32
1030 920 64.8 104.6
626 73-108A ................................................. 12/27/73 259 257 65.0 89.7 2/9/73 45
990 910 64.9 104.0
651 74-29A .................................................. 5/15/74 264 250 65.0 89.6 7/25/74 71
954 892 65.0 103.5
65474-32A ................................................... 5/17/74 265 248 65.0 89.6 7/30/74 74
1024 913 65.0 104.4
723 75-24A .................................................. 2/4/75 266 249 65.0 89.6 5/15/75 43
952 917 64.7 103.7
72475-25A ................................................... 4/7/75 266 248 65.0 89.6 6/10/75 64
937 869 65.5 103.4
78575-116A.................................................. 12/12/75 261 251 65.0 89.6 12/12/75 <1
1023 898 65.1 104.3
86076-103A .................................................. 10/17/76 265 252 65.0 89.7 11/10/76 24
1008 919 64.7 104.3
861 76-104A ................................................. 10/21/76 265 251 65.0 89.7 12/20/76 60
1005 921 64.9 104.3
95277-88A ................................................... 9/16/77 265 251 65.0 89.7 10/7/77 21
998 910 64.9 104.1
95477-90A ................................................... 9/18/77 265 251 65.0 89.7 Decayed 42
117680-34A .................................................. 4/29/80 266 250 65.0 89.7 9/10/80 134
966 870 64.8 103.4
124981-21A .................................................. 3/5/81 265 252 65.0 89.7 6/18/81 105
985 898 65.0 103.9
126681-37A .................................................. 4/21/81 268 249 65.0 89.7 4/28/81 8
965 891 64.8 103.6
129981-81A .................................................. 8/24/81 267 248 65.0 89.7 9/5/81 12
984 910 65.1 104.0
136582-43A .................................................. 5/14/82 264 252 65.0 89.7 9/26/82 135
977 885 65.1 103.7
137282-52A .................................................. 6/1/82 270 246 65.0 89.7 8/10/82 70
981 908 64.9 104.0
1402 82-84A .............................................. 8/30/82 265 251 65.0 89.7 Decayed 120
141282-99A .............................................. 10/2/82 266 251 65.0 89.7 11/10/82 39
983 909 64.8 104.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 The initial orbit for Cosmos 367 is that given for the platform, 70-79C in the RAE table. Notes:
- All satellites were launched from Tyuratam by the F-lm.
- Apogee and perigee heights in kilometers, inclination in degrees, orbital period in minutes, and lifetime to raising to the "safe" orbit in integer
days - Orbital data in the second line of each entry refers to the "safe" orbit.
- Orbital data, which may differ from (bat given in the Master Log, has been taken from The R.A.E. Table of Earth Satellites 1957-1982,
Italian, London, 1983.
5. Lifetimes and dates of raising to the "safe" orbit which differ from those given by the RAE. are the results of independent calculations.
6 Table prepared for the Congressional Research Service by G.E. Perry.
Cosmos 1405, the third EORSAT of 1982, exhibited a 141° plane separation from the two RORSATs in operation at the time, but led these satellites rather than trailing them like Cosmos 1355. Cosmos 1405 was time-phased with Cosmos 1355 and this was the first occasionon which a pair of EORSATs and a pair of RORSATs operated simultaneously.
EORSATs continued to be launched through 1983 despite the Cosmos 1402 incident. Cosmos 1461 and Cosmos 1507 were time- phased 6° out of plane with each other, thereby sharing the same unique set of ground tracks. There was speculation that Cosmos 1507 was launched to observe U.S naval activity in the Caribbean at the time of the invasion of Grenada but, at that time, also, U.S. naval vessels were assembling in the Middle East following an Ira nian threat to blockade the Straits of Hormuz.
Other ELINT Satellites
The Soviet Union operated a constellation of heavy ELINT satel lites based on the early Meteor design and launched by the A-l from Plesetsk beginning in 1970. With periods of around 97.7 min utes in near-circular orbits at 81.2° inclination, they were initially considered by some analysts to be Meteor failures. As time went by and a constellation with 60° plane-separation was established, pro viding global coverage with regular replacements and from which no scientific results were ever published, it became clear that they were performing some military role.
The precise plane-spacing of the constellation began to degrade in 1980 and their role was assumed by a newer class of satellite, based on earlier Cosmos satellites with announced oceanographic missions. These satellites are launched by the F-2 into 82.5° inclinations, again with periods close to 97.7 minutes.
An earlier sub-set of Cosmos satellites suffered severely from the effect of atmospheric drag at the time of the last solar maximum. Of smaller mass and launched by the intermediate C-l into orbits with 95 minute periods at 74° inclination, these had provided a con stellation of four satellites with 45° plane-separations since the end of the 1960s. During 1980 and 1981, 28 of these satellites decayed in the Earth's atmosphere and at the beginning of 1982 only two, which have since decayed, remained in orbit. This constellation was not re-established.
References:
A . SOVIET SPACE PROGRAMS: 1981-87, SPACE SCIENCE, SPACE APPLICATIONS, MILITARY SPACE PROGRAMS, ADMINISTRATION, RESOURCE BURDEN, AND MASTER LOG OF SPACEFLIGHTS, Part 2, April 1989, Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D.C. 1989, Committee print 1981-87- part-2
65. Johnson, N. L. op. cit, p. 47.
66. Perry Q E i n Soviet Space Programs: 1971-75. Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sci ence. U.S. Congress. Senate. Washington, 1976. p. 464-473.
67 Jasani, B. SIPRI Yearbook 1978: World Armaments and Disarmament. London, Taylor and Francis, 1978. p. 73-79.
68 Johnson, N. L. op. cit, p. 115-116.
69 Pravda, Moscow, Jan. 8, 1983, 2nd ed., p. 2.
70 Schemann, S. New York Times, Jan. 16, 1983. p. 13.
71 Johnson, N. L. Spacecraft and Rockets, 1982, p. 113-117
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
